MANILA: A faction in the Moro National Liberation Front managed to stall the resumption of peace talks with the government, a ranking MNLF official said yesterday.
MNLF spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has allowed the indefinite postponement of the tripartite preliminary talks between the government and the MNLF pending resolution of who should represent the group in the Islamic body.
“The issue on the representation has been raised so the tripartite talk between the OIC, government and MNLF has been reset to an undetermined date,” Fontanilla said. He declined to give details but a source revealed a faction led by Muslimin Sema has questioned the representation of former MNLF chairman Nur Misuari in the talks.
Misuari has been recognized and given an observer seat at the OIC representing the Bangsamoro people in the Philippines.
Fontanilla said Misuari is set to meet with the Indonesian ambassador on June 18 to discuss the resumption of tripartite talks.
Indonesia is brokering the talks between the government and MNLF panels. The three-day preliminary talks were supposed to discuss the final implementation of the 1996 peace agreement under the auspices of OIC.
Misuari was supposed to lead the four-man panel while Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles is expected to head the government panel.
Fontanilla, a member of the MNLF panel, said among the issues that will be discussed are the two last remaining items of the peace accord: coverage of territory and sharing of resources.
Fontanilla added the resumption of peace talks is an offshoot of a resolution issued by the OIC that called on the Philippine government to synchronise the framework agreement forged by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf).
“The MNLF sees no conflict with the framework agreement because it aims to address the Bangsamoro problem in Mindanao,” he said.
The Philippine Star
